Dead Or Alive Castlevania Darkness Rising
by Freedom Guard
Summary: This is another crossover project I had in the works and decided to show in the selection of my profile, Alucard travels through the world after vowing to live with humans, and is soon drawn to protect them once more from the threat of his father.
1. Chapter 1

Dead or Alive Castlevania

Disclaimer: I don't own either Dead or Alive, or Castlevania so don't bother asking me if I do.

Prologue

( ): Thoughts

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In a valley in Europe….late 18th Century

"This place hasn't changed."

The voice belonged to a young man who was immaculately dressed in regal clothing befitting an aristocrat of the old nobility in Europe, in his hands were a collection of beautiful flowers that were arranged in a very interesting fashion, he moved through the valley and headed for the ruins of an old villa in the valley. Once he arrived there, he began to move through the rooms slowly, as if trying to remember things about the room that were long forgotten by others, except him.

He gently walked over to the nearby table that was already rotting and no longer of any use, gently running his fingers on the wood, the wood was devoid of any color and was already soaked with water, covered in mold, but the man didn't seem to notice those things as he was lost in memory while moving his fingers on the table. He moved his actions to a nearby chair, gently touching the chair as it was already breaking down and rotting. He heard his boots make sounds with each step that he made on the stone floor of the villa, after checking both the table and the chair, he moved to the walls, gently running his fingers on the stone surface.

The man smiled a bit as he stopped and left the room, heading into what was to be considered the kitchen, he repeated the same process as before when he was there in the very first room, gently touching the tables that used to be where ingredients and the like were located, he moved to the stone walls and touched the cabinets, then the cooking areas. Each action brought a slight smile and a slight laugh on the man's face, along with a sad sigh.

Anyone who would see this would have guessed that this villa held a great deal of memories for the person as he would sometimes look up to the roof and smile slightly despite the fact that like the rest of the place, the roof was already having holes there that allowed the sunlight into the ruined home.

As soon as he was done, he walked out of the villa and headed to a nearby structure and there spotted a grave stone and walked over to it and ran his hands gently on the stone once more, it had been nearly half a decade since he had come to this place with a new batch of flowers, he turned and there came a sprite, a powerful being that was small but wielded great magical power, the being however flew towards him and then bowed in greeting.

"Master Alucard, it is good to see that you have kept your promise."

Alucard, or Adrian Farenheights Tepes nodded in greeting as he looked at the sprite.

"Her grave has not been disturbed?"

"Nay Master, I have done all I can to keep this place hidden from others as your request."

"I thank you."

The sprite smiled sincerely at the half vampire warrior and replied.

"No need for thanks, it is the least I can do for both you and Mistress Renard."

Alucard nodded and gently placed down the flowers to the grave stone and looked at the name, Maria Renard Tepes. And he thought back of the time he had met the young and brave woman who dared to fall in love with him and tried to reach out to him after the battle that freed her brother in law, Ricther Belmont and his eventual battle with his father's servant Shaft and his father in particular, as well as dealing with the ghosts of the past who had tried to come back to cause more chaos in his life.

It had been his intention to leave the world of the living and sleep once more in solitude, but Maria braved the dangers of his location and came to him to convince him to live with the humans, or rather with her. He looked at her and couldn't believe that he saw love in her eyes, love towards him of all people. He tried to convince her to return to her family, to her sister and her brother in law, but she refused, showing the same stubborn fire and nature that he privately admired though never revealed. He finally agreed but he had been so emotionally distant from her that he had always thought that it was a mistake of judgment on his part for staying with her and he had never adjusted with living with humans due to his fear of the past.

She never gave up even when Magnus used his former servant and friend Lyudmil and nearly died fighting to aid him alongside Richter, Silyl and Alexis against the Incubus and there he began to show more emotion towards her. She accepted that and as such, he began to adjust living with humans once again ever since the death of his mother Lisa. He and Maria lived together and as time passed, he had learned much about humanity from her as he had done when his mother still lived. They had many children together, and their family had served to help the Belmont Clan when the time came, Maria and he were there to help them fight the forces of Darkness that sought to bring his father back by any means necessary.

The one painful thing that Alucard had to deal with was the fact that since he was an immortal due to his vampire half, he could not grow old and would remain young and free of the ravages of time and disease, as well as many other ailments that plagued humanity in it's time, and these claimed many as time passed, his own sister in law Annette, Richter himself….and finally Maria herself, she had grown old as time passed but to him she was still beautiful as she never lost her fire and spirit, he had been sorely tempted many times over to turn her into an immortal so they would never part, but he was loath to do so as he would never want her to live a life like his long before he knew her.

She knew that and assured him that she had lived a happy life with him and she never regretted a single moment with him. However she asked him on her death bed to never go back to slumbering alone in the darkness and live with humans, to be with the people who he had willingly sided with against his heritage and dark family to never forget that there was good in humanity. He recalled her words before she finally passed on to him.

'Live Adrian…..live free and treasure life for as long as you have it, as I have lived my life with you.'

He had buried Maria here in this place and he tried to do so, it was hard not having Maria with him, but he had never given up either as his life with her had given him some measure of hope in being able to live with humans, and after a number of years and despite some close calls with both the agents of his father and those humans who considered all vampires to be evil without care, he had begun to see the strength of humans as well as the good in them.

As he placed those memories aside for now, he began to think on how to speak as he had been making plans for his life from here on out, there was much left for him to do and while being able to live with humans was something that was now possible for him, he also had to consider his inner duty to face the forces of darkness. He knew that his father would always return every hundred years or so and those who worshipped the power of evil would always seek to bring him back to wage war on humanity. The Belmonts would oppose him as will many others, including the descendants of his children with Maria, but he too must help as while he could not completely surpass his father's powers, his powers would play a key role when it was needed.

He then spoke once more to Maria's gravestone.

"I am planning to live as you asked me Maria, to live among humans as you….and my mother asked of me. I may not be here for a long time, but I hope that you will be able to understand if I am not able to be here, I will come and visit whenever I can."

He laid down the flowers and stood up and looked at the gravestone and then turned to the sprite as he spoke to it once more.

"Will you be here to guard this place?"

"Of course Master Alucard, I will do my best to watch over this place for as long as I can. I believe that she will understand as well as Mistress Lisa, I will see you again soon Master Alucard."

"I hope so."

With that, Alucard left the place and silently spoke to the memory of his mother and Maria and hope that they would somehow be there to guide him as he began to make his way into the wider world to see history be made and assist humans in fighting the forces of darkness in all of it's forms. He had no doubt in his mind that it would come soon and he would be taking up arms alongside those who would fight his father and his dark army, for now, he had much to see in this world of the living beyond the realms of Europe.

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Tokyo, Japan, modern day…

The hustle and bustle of the city was always on the move this early in the day as commuters made their way to their own destinations in the city, parents took their kids to their schools, while families on a break would head off to the malls to relax and enjoy themselves as well as go to parks to pass the time there. Students would be moving about, talking about the latest gadgets, fashion, trends, and the local gossip, as well as looking at members of the opposite gender.

This was the life of the people of Tokyo and it was something that one would have to admit was very hectic by most if not all standards, but that was only the perception of new comers from other countries or other remote parts of Japan. At the moment, the television billboards were showing the latest products, commercials, and news to those who would watch as well as play music over the moving cities. It was a very charged and busy atmosphere with it's interesting moments in between.

All this was accepted by one female student as she and her fellow students were making their way into a nearby mall.

Kasumi sighed a bit as she looked about the place in her school uniform, she and her classmates were busy taking a break after a long exam back in their school and they were heading to the mall to take a lunch break before heading back to the school for some more lessons and when that was all over, they would head back home and go to the school the very next day, it was a daily routine, but it suited Kasumi well enough for now, she was not being hunted by the ninjas of her village and that was something that made it easier.

It had been weeks since the end of the Fourth Tournament and while she had been able to see her brother again briefly, she still ached to see him again, however she knew that her brother was still bound by their clan laws and she was still a runaway. It hurt the gentle natured Kunoichi that she was being hunted by Hayate, her own brother, but he at least had sent Ryu to shield her from harm, that told her that despite having given the order as clan leader, her brother still cared deeply for her.

She would not be surprised if Ryu was watching her at this very moment, but she smiled at that, knowing that Ryu was there for her was good enough, for now she decided to enjoy the time with her friends for as long as possible.

Aki turned and then spoke to Kasumi.

"Hey Kasumi, you plan on getting some new books soon?"

"Yes I am, why do you ask?"

"Just curious, anyway, let's hurry and grab something to eat, I'm starved!"

Mika, the one who wore her glasses most of the time replied to that remark from the energetic Aki.

"You're always hungry."

Aki stuck her tongue out at her old friend while Kasumi and the others in the group looked on, Kasumi smiled at both Aki and Mika, they were good friends though Aki was the more energetic one of the group with Mika was the more serious and calm one of the group though she was not strict at all times. Kasumi's small group of friends were all nice people, Yuki was the book worm and always had her eyes on a book and was something of a romantic, while Suki was more of an athlete and was one of the school's best players in basketball and Midori was the one who was the most skilled when it came to things that dealt with computers. All in all, they were regular friends and she had known them for some time now since she had entered their school.

(They are so normal….)

She sighed mentally and focused her thoughts on what could be happening in the village she had left behind years before, no doubt it was growing well enough, with DOATEC destroyed and their forces broken, she hoped that it would be the end of things, she had never forgiven the things DOATEC had done in order to gain power and it did her heart good that they were stopped, though she still had some level of doubts on the matter since she had enough experience to know that DOATEC was never going to truly be finished, they were a powerful corporation after all and no doubt were already licking their wounds.

"Kasumi!!!!"

"Ahhhh!!!!"

Aki grinned a bit at the startled reaction made by Kasumi as she spoke to her.

"I wish you'd stop spacing out like that Kasumi-chan, it's not nice for you to be so silent."

Suki sighed and spoke to Aki.

"You shouldn't do that to Kasumi Aki, she deserves some privacy you know."

Aki nodded and replied.

"I know, but I like it when Kasumi is with us and not spacing out during a conversation."

Kasumi sighed a bit and spoke.

"Sorry I was just thinking about some other matters, anyway, what are we having for lunch today?"

Yuki smiled and replied.

"I think we're going to try that new restaurant that was being set up today, I heard it's already open and has quite a lot of customers. It's got a full menu from Europe and I've always wanted to try those dishes."

"Oh, that sounds like a nice place."

The students headed out with Yuki giving directions to the restaurant she had heard about while Kasumi followed, she was still deep in thought and focused on her family, it hurt her to think that she would not be allowed to see them for a long time due to her runaway Kunoichi status, her heart ached to see her mother again, her father, her brother…and yes, even Ayane as well. Ayane had not yet completely forgotten their rivalry and it hurt her to think that her half sister still hated her, she wished that they could finally start over but that was only possible if she was with the clan. She missed them so much and it was never easy to live apart from them, even if she had friends, she still wished to be with her family.

Kasumi was so deep in thought once more that she was not looking as to where she was going and that was enough to get her to collide with someone just as Mika called out to her.

Kasumi was hit and fell back a few steps but then a hand reached out and took her own hand and steadied her, she quickly apologized in her native tongue.

("Sorry about that! I was so deep in thought that I wasn't looking.")

"Are you all right young lady?"

Kasumi quickly heard an English speaking voice but it had an odd yet appealing European accent to it, she had traveled extensively during her days in running from the assassins sent by her clan to deal with her and when she was participating in the Dead or Alive Tournaments so she knew quickly that the person she collided with was a foreigner.

She looked to see just who she had collided with and she gasped a bit.

The person was a tall man, well built, wearing a very simple but classical business suit, complete with coat and tie, the coat was black and so was the tie though it had some golden patterns woven into the tie itself, the man was handsome to say the least and his hair was light blonde and long, held in a ponytail on his back, his eyes were a deep blue, almost like sapphires and his skin was like white snow, pale yet not showing any sign of sickness, and his face was without flaw, perfectly formed and chiseled. He was by far a very powerful presence and Kasumi's senses told her that this person had a very commanding aura, not threatening, but certainly tangible and could be felt all over him.

She couldn't help but feel some worry in her as she looked at the handsome man before her as she had never met him before in her life. She had seen many handsome men in her days growing up and in her travels, but something about this one person seemed to tug at her senses for some reason.

The man then spoke to her.

"Are you all right?"

Kasumi realized that she was staring at the man without any hesitation and she was quickly embarrassed by this action she was taking towards someone she barely knew and quickly bowed to him and spoke in English, having developed considerable familiarity with the language for the past months.

"I…I am fine, I apologize for running into you sir."

The man smiled and Kasumi had to admit that the very second he smiled, she felt something stir in her and she felt heat rise to her face, she quickly tried to push those feelings down as she was not behaving properly in front of a person she had just met.

"I see….I must apologize as well for not noticing you, I was under the impression that you were going to move to a different direction."

While this was happening, Kasumi was able to hear the words of her fellow students while they were speaking in Japanese.

("Wow….who is that guy?")

("He's a foreigner, and quite handsome.")

("He speaks in English and I think there's an accent there, not American….maybe European.")

("Really? Maybe he has a castle in Europe or something.")

("You're jumping to conclusions Yuki, you barely even know him.")

The Kunoichi focused her full attention however on the stranger and spoke once more to the man though she could not ice that she and her friends were not the only ones affected by the handsome stranger, several other groups of women were looking at him with measures of attraction and appreciation, while others were very much talking about him. Kasumi then looked at the stranger as she spoke.

"I see….I'm really sorry for running into you, Mr…."

"Adrian…my name is Adrian Faren."

"I see, and my name is Kasumi, it's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Adrian."

The man smiled at that and seemed to be thinking about something and spoke a moment.

"Your name is Kasumi, hmmm, if I were to recall, your name means 'Mist' am I correct?"

"Yes."

"I see…well then, I must take my leave I have recently arrived here in Japan to deal with some important matters as well as look for the place in which I will begin my occupation. It's been a pleasure to meet you Kasumi."

Kasumi smiled politely and bowed to the man.

"Of course, thank you Mr. Adrian."

Adrian gently moved aside in a very polite fashion and allowed Kasumi to pass, much to her embarrassment and surprise along with that of her class mates who were still looking at the very handsome person who their friend had just run into. But as they were about to leave, Adrian spoke to them once more.

"Before I forget, tell your friend Yuki that I do happen to live in an ancestral castle in Europe."

Kasumi blushed a bit and smiled as Adrian left, at that very second she was soon being grilled by her classmates, since they had not been able to follow the conversation with Kasumi and Adrian they were more than eager to get details on what had transpired between the handsome stranger and their friend.

"So who was he Kasumi?"

The Kunoichi was still trying to make sense of her thoughts, she felt something was off about this man she had just met but it was not in a bad way either, like it stirred a memory in her long forgotten past, she then spoke to her friends about what she had been talking about with the man.

"He said his name was Adrian and he is here on business and, I think he's planning to work here in our land."

"Oh! That's news!"

The other students were very much curious about the man and even more so when Kasumi mentioned that he did own a castle in Europe, this was enough to make Yuki very happy and she wondered if Kasumi would consider asking the man out. Kasumi to her embarrassment replied that she was not familiar with the man and such a thing would be wrong, and the others eventually agreed as they were not sure if they were ever going to meet the handsome man again.

They were unaware of the fact that a certain someone was watching them or rather Kasumi in particular as well as the event that had just taken place.

Ryu wondered just who that person was and why it that he seemed….familiar to him even though he knew that now was the only time he had ever seen this person.

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The next day…

'Hello there….'

'Hi….my name is Kasumi, who are you?'

'I? I am…'

RING!!!!!!!!

"AAAAHHHHH!!!!"

Kasumi woke up in her room and was confused somewhat by that dream, she had dreamed of her being somewhere surrounded by a sea of white and talking to someone when she was still a little girl, yet for some reason she was not able to see the person's face at all. The Kunoichi wondered why that dream happened and what did it mean to her. However she looked and realized that she only had an hour and a half before class and quickly got out of bed and fed her fish while cooking something quick and tasty to eat for her trip to school, once she was done with the food, she ate it and got dressed for school. She moved as quickly as she could, avoiding bumping into people while avoiding those who might be dangerous people and got on a bus and headed to the school that she was currently in.

As the students moved into their classrooms, they were quickly talking to one another about the many things young people would routinely talk about in their days in school, Kasumi noted however that it seemed that there was a new topic of discussion among her class mates and she was quick to meet her friends to find out what was going on.

"What's been happening here?"

Aki was the one who spoke for the others.

"I just heard something interesting, we've gotten a brand new World History Teacher, it seems that Mrs., Sendo had retired."

Kasumi was surprised by this as she liked Mrs. Sendo who was quite a good teacher despite her age, however she could understand why the lady retired from the teaching job. She then decided to ask just who this new teacher was.

"So who do you think is taking over Mrs. Sendo's place?"

"I don't know, all I know is that it's a man who'll be taking over the subject."

Suki then replied to that.

"That's what I heard as well, though I think it's going to be an older man who will be the teacher."

Mika replied as she read her book.

"I don't really mind at all, I just hope that the lecture is interesting this time around."

As the others talked with one another, Kasumi sat down and decided to just take her time and think on other important matters.

"I heard that our new teacher is actually a foreigner...."

Aki grinned...

"Imagine us having a foreign teacher....he must be pretty good...say, do you think he could be a nice looking guy?"

"Aki! We barely met this teacher yet and you're already crushing on him!!!"

"I am not....well, maybe a little."

"Yeah well....for all we know the new teacher could be just a very old senile man with back problems...."

"Suki! it's not nice to say that about someone we barely met...."

Kasumi looked at her friends and smiled a bit more and wondered how this day was going to end. It was then that the principle came into the room. Mr. Yamato coughed and all the students sat down on their desks and got ready for the announcement that was sure to come as the only time a principle came to class was when something was coming up.

"Good morning students!"

"Good Morning Sensei!"

"Now then....as you all no doubt know...Mrs. Sendo is taking a leave of absence from the school and therefore will not be here for a number of months. We had to find a replacement teacher for your subject of World History and that is hard to do in this semester. However we have found a replacement in the nick of time and he is a foreigner as some of you have found out...and he is already here..."

The principle of Kasumi's school turned and spoke in English to the door leading outside.

"You can come in now..."

The students expected their new teacher to be a senile old man with back problems and whatnot from old age....but what they got was something else entirely.

Gasps were heard from the students...namely the female students as the looked at their new teacher.

The teacher was NOT an old man as they thought....but a young man who was devastatingly handsome, he had white skin...almost like marble and smooth, well formed cheek bones, he had platinum blonde hair which was in a long ponytail and two lush lengths framing the sides of his face...his features made him look more like an angel than a man, and the word beautiful was an even more accurate description as well as handsome.

The man faced them all and his voice was deep, masculine, and filled with a power that spoke of authority, knowledge, experience, and more.

"Good morning students, allow me to introduce myself, my name is Adrian Faren, I will be your teacher in World History for this year, it is a pleasure to meet you. This is my second time to be in your country so I hope that you will excuse me if I do not entirely know the culture here in your school."

Kasumi was rendered speechless as she looked at none other than the same man who she and her class mates had run into at the mall yesterday; he was dressed in the school's male teacher uniform and seemed to just as handsome as before. She gave a brief glance to her friends and saw that they too were very much surprised by this turn of events.

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To be continued…

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Author's Notes:

As promised, this is a Dead Or Alive CastleVania crossover and no doubt the very first of it's kind in this area and something of an experiment. I have to admit that this was inspired by Damon Black's Devil May Cry X Dead or Alive crossover story but it has nothing similar to the said story as I have my own directions planned for this story and Alucard is a far different being as well.

As you might have read, I took into account the changes in the story of Castlevania so Sonia is not part of this story line and this also takes into account the Audio Drama, Nocturne of Recollection of the CastleVania series that takes place a year after the ending of Symphony of the Night. And as such, Maria and Alucard are together and do have children who's descendants will be showing later on as the story progresses.

Since this story has Castlevania in it, you can guess the idea of how this might play out, however, there will be some new surprises as well as something that will naturally involve the DOA cast eventually. And just for the record…Alucard has some history with the Clan that Kasumi, Hayate, and Ayane belong to but they don't recall it very well.

As to pairings….well that is up to me, but you can offer suggestions, keep in mind that Alucard has quite a number traits that would attract women in one fashion or another apart from his good looks, so don't go for surface impressions right off the bat.

Anyway, it's just the prologue for now so I will be back and I might update Mortal Kombat Rosario soon enough.


	2. Chapter 2

Dead Or Alive Castlevania

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to DOA and Castlevania…though I wish I had the ladies as company in real life…never mind that.

Chapter 1

Adjustments…

( ): Thoughts…

…

Tokyo…

Adrian looked over the books of his subjects as he was currently taking his lunch break in the school's dining area for the teachers. At this time he was eating some standard Western fair, namely some German Sausages, Baked potatoes, cool herbal tea, and simple bread. Most would think that as he was a dhampire, Adrian would need to drink blood to survive, that was only partially true, he gained sustenance from blood, but as he was half human he was also able to gain nourishment from human food.

The reason he did so was not just to blend in and avoid people, it was also to remember that despite his dark heritage he was human still. And his promise to experience life held him fast which was why he did these things. Enrolling in this school was a bit risky as there had been few applicants, but with the opening for world history, he took it and found himself quite suited for it.

And for good reason…

Due to his bloodline and his inherent lack of aging, Adrian had experienced what the world had gone through ever since the last battle he had with his father when the Belmont family had been sidelined by Shaft's magic. After leaving Maria's burial site, he had seen many of the upheavals of the land and on occasion helped the forces of light in fighting the forces of darkness. Though he made sure not to interfere directly at times, there had been many instances that he took a more direct approach to what he needed to do.

He rarely got involved when he was aware that the Belmonts and those with the power to face his father's legions were more than able to deal with the task at hand. That gave him plenty of time to explore the world beyond Europe as well as learn the other cultures and peoples. He came into contact with other humans who believed in the struggle of light against darkness and had even expanded his knowledge to further himself should it ever happen again. Along the way he had met some interesting people as well.

"Mr. Faren?"

Adrian turned to see one of the teaching staff, one Yukino Asami looking at him, the young female teacher who wore the same teacher's outfit that the female teachers wore in the school. The young woman seemed a bit troubled by something and he was curious as to what that would be.

"Yes Miss. Asami, can I help you with something?"

"Nothing really, I was hoping to ask how you were doing in your recent classes here so far?"

Adrian gave a slight smile at that and replied.

"I am doing well enough Miss. Asami, do not need to worry on my account, I have dealt with far more difficult things that young teenagers."

The teacher smiled at that and after a few more minutes of talking between the two of them, Adrian was able to finish his food and begin to read up on what else he was going to discuss with the students for the rest of the day. He was not going to have his class just yet and the students were also having their own lunch break as well.

…

In the cafeteria…

The students were deep in discussion on many matters that youngsters their age would normally be taking interest in. There were some of them who were talking about the latest fashions, others talked movies, others talked about games, some talked about new gadgets, and others talked about their respective crushes and significant others as well. The rest would also talk about the latest news.

Kasumi was currently by herself as her friends were still getting their orders, she was currently eating some salad and some sushi while deep in thought about many things. But the one that weighed on the young Kunoichi's heart had to do with her family. Even though she had accepted the risks she had undertaken, going after her demonic uncle for his crimes and the near killing o her brother, it had been hard to know that she could never be able to come back home.

She knew that Ryu would be watching over her as the request of her brother Hayate to him. Even though he gave the orders to have their clan ninja go after her for her disobeying the laws, the fact that he had willingly ordered Ryu to watch over her was sign that he did not love the position he was in concerning her.

(Brother…how I wished that there was a way that I can come home, and make amends for what I have done.)

(Mother…I miss you and father…)

At the thoughts of her parents, Kasumi felt her heart beat again and she felt another wave of sadness at the thought of never seeing her parents again. She could only imagine the kind of sadness her parents felt, knowing that their own son was ordering the death of his own sister and their daughter as well. While she knew that both her mother and father were willing to follow the laws of their clan, that did not mean that they did not agree with things the way they were privately.

She placed those thoughts aside as her friends came over with Yuki speaking first.

"Hey there Kasumi, how are you doing?"

"I am fine, just taking the time to enjoy my food."

Her friend smiled and it was not long before her other friends were there and they were chatting alongside her while eating their food once more. She took a drink from her orange juice bottle when Suki then spoke.

"You know…I was really surprised that we were going to meet that same guy we met only a a few hours ago is now our teacher!"

'Yeah, and it's nice that we get such a handsome teacher!"

"I know, did you see the reaction of the others? I swear that some of the other girls were looking at Mr. Faren all day! I think that even some of the female seniors were eyeing him!"

"Well wouldn't you? I mean, he looks so dreamy."

Kasumi did not bother her friends as they continued to talk to one another as she began to think about her new teacher. There was no doubt that he was handsome in her eyes, but she was not going to think about it for now as that was the least important thing on her mind. However it was at this exact moment that one of her friends spoke to her.

"Hey Kasumi!"

"Huh?"

"Kasumi, I swear that there are times I wish I knew what you were thinking about, didn't you hear my question?"

"Sorry, I did not hear the question, what was it you were trying to ask me?"

"I was asking you what you think of out new teacher?"

Kasumi thought it over and the copper haired beauty decided to tell her friends what she thought of the new teacher who was being the subject of discussion by the other students of the female persuasion.

"I think that he is a good man and rather intelligent…"

"Not to mention good looking right?"

Kasumi had to admit that her friend had a point and replied.

"I agree to that, he is good looking, but we don't know a great deal about him. It would be wrong for us to judge him just by those things alone you know."

Her friends nodded at that in good humor but whatever it was that they were going to say when the bell came online to tell them that now was the time to go back to their rooms as their lunch break was now over. Kasumi got up and joined her friends and head back to school and when they arrived at their classroom, they were soon greeted by the man in question. Many of the female students greeted Adrian cheerfully and he gave them greeting smiles as well and when the two of them faced on another, he spoke to her once again.

"It is good to see you again Kasumi."

"I, I can say the same Mr. Faren, though I had not expected you to be my teacher here in my school."

"Life has a way of surprising you when you least expect it Miss. Kasumi, anyway, I am at least grateful that there is a familiar face in this school."

"I see, well then, I should hurry up and get to my seat."

Adrian nodded and soon the classes went back to their usual schedule and they were tackling on the subject of the period in Europe known as the Renaissance…something that Adrian very intimately as he had lived through that period himself. His knowledge of the subject was interesting to his students as they were amazed that how their teacher seemed to know more than most sources of information that they had on hand…unaware of the fact that their teacher had lived in that very same era and had known a number of figures there as well.

…

As soon as the day came to an end, many of the students were now leaving their school and were on their way home. Those with family and relatives headed off to their homes while others headed off to their places to stay, and the same could be said for Kasumi as she had plans to head home, but her mind had been occupied by other thoughts as well.

Meeting Adrian again was nice and even more so as he was a nice man, and rather very intelligent to boot. But for some odd reason meeting him again had began to trigger some rather vague memories in her mind, she had no idea where those memories came from, but at least they were not filled with bad images. Still, she wondered why she had them in the first place even though she was having a hard time seeing for sure if these memories had some importance.

She placed them aside as she made it to her home and thankfully her ninja senses had not detected anything that would be considered as a threat to her, and her room was clean and untouched, just as she left it. She checked on her pet fish, she naturally was pleased to see that they were all in good health and she took out the fish food, made sure she had the right amount for good health and placed the food in.

She then spoke to the room which looked empty.

"it's good to see you again Ryu."

The woman turned around and sure enough, her super ninja guardian was right there, his eyes were still the same but they seemed to be calmer this time around as he spoke.

"How was school Kasumi?"

"It was fine Ryu, I have nothing to worry about at all, how is my brother?"

Ryu sighed at that as he looked at Kasumi who was moving to look at the city before the two of them. He admitted that the view was nice but he preferred the natural views of a forest over the city any time of the day.

"It's not been easy, he is still conflicted about all of this concerning you, that's all I can say so far Kasumi."

":And…my parents?"

"Lady Ayame…and master Shiden are still doing their best to make the most of it…but there is no doubt in my mind that they miss you dearly."

"But I still cannot go home, right?"

"Yes…I wish I could say more."

Kasumi nodded as she tried her best not to cry, she needed to remain calm for now and she spoke once more to Ryu.

"What about Ayane, is she still after me?"

"Yes, but she seems less intense about it, I think it has something to do with the fact that she had learned to put it aside. She did save your life in that whole Tri-tower incident. She won't give up easily but she had lost a portion of the fuel that made her come after you. But I think our victory was hollow somewhat."

"How so?"

"We never found Donovan at all, I personally tracked him and yet he seemed to have somehow evaded not just me, but the other Mugen Tenshin ninja sent to capture him to make him pay for his transgressions to us and to many others well. I can only hope that we will be able to find out just what had happened to the man."

Kasumi nodded and hoped that this was not going to come back and haunt her and her family as well. But for now she was happy to have news even if some if not all of the news was bitter sweet.

"Thank you for the news Ryu, I will make sure to be on guard, and if I find out anything, I will make sure to send it to you and you can send it to Hayate."

"Are you sure about that?"

"I know…that I cannot go home at all, not after breaking the laws we have, but that does not mean I cannot do what I can to help protect it as much as possible."

Ryu smiled underneath his mask and replied.

"I will do that, have a good night sleep Kasumi."

Kasumi smiled and when Ryu was done, she went to the bath and as soon as she was done, she dressed in her pajamas and go to sleep. She hoped that at least for this night, she was going to get a good night's sleep and dream of happier times. Even if those dreams hurt when she was awake, she was not going to let them go for any reason until she found a way to return him and make amends to her family.

…

Elsewhere

Adrian arrived at his abode in Japan without mess or incident, and for that he was thankful, the new innovations developed by humanity were interesting, but he did not find much comfort in them as he had left the train station. He recalled just what life was like back in the old days and felt that with many people now discounting the supernatural and the dangers of evil magic, they were a lot more vulnerable than they were before.

(I wonder how easily had the humans forgotten the terrors of the night…)

The dhampire however placed his thoughts aside for a time as he placed his hands on the gate, chanting silently. The results were obvious as special glowing symbols appeared on his gate and walls as he entered. These were special warning symbols that would alert him to any supernatural force, benevolent or otherwise that might try to entre his home uninvited.

The place he called home in Japan had actually been something he had personally built back in Japan's 18th Century when he came to the land, he had the house personally constructed and had placed many seals on it to make it a lot more resilient and well preserved as well as off the beaten path and eye of the people of this land. Only those with exceptional skill and experience with the supernatural or were supernatural beings could find his home.

The house was a fairly large place and was naturally in the traditional Japanese style of construction despite the fact that it was littered with enchantments. It was peaceful looking and would certainly be quite a sight to many, but Adrian had this place hidden for a reason. It was located in a font of power, one of the many places were magical and spiritual energy would gather and then condensed. This allowed him to feel the currents of magic that flowed all over the land and keep him up to date with the events beyond the lands of Japan.

Inside it had everything a large Japanese manor would have, changing rooms, guest rooms, a kitchen, dining hall, meeting hall, bedrooms, bathing area…and more besides. And it was a well stocked place but was sustained by magic and not by modern systems which were better at hiding the house. The last thing Adrian wanted were guests in what would be considered an enchanted house but he was ready for what might happen. He had lied to the students the morning before, he had been to Japan a few times, though they had hardly been born at the time. With his skills in disguising himself and his learning of the language, he had been to Japan many times, namely when it was still an isolated nation and when began the drive that focused on modernizing itself to compete with the outside world.

And a number of artifacts he had gathered in his long career had come from Japan as well, namely a few of his weapons. This was due to the fact that his father had made contact with a number of highly skilled sword smiths and had commissioned weapons to be made for him and his forces, and he had even contacted the mad sword smith Murumasa to forge the infamous blade that while he had some level of distaste for, had proven itself to be a very useful tool in battle.

As he sat down on his chair for the night, he began to think about his time here in Japan, so far there had been nothing occurring to garner his attention and it had been some time since he had come to this land. It had truly changed his he had last been here, his last stay was in the Alaskan wilderness and meeting some of the supernatural creatures that resided there as well as the spiritual people who still remembered the old ways.

They might not have had any love for his father, but they thankfully had developed a level of tolerance and some respect for him since despite the powers of darkness in him, they knew he had no malicious intent towards them . As he sat down and began to relax himself he turned as he heard the flapping of wings and turned to see a massive bat coming his way. The creature was flying towards him and he place4d his hand in a manner that resembled a perch, and the creature latched on without him bothering with the claws it had as it chattered away.

Most would not have understood the bat as it spoke to them in it's tongue, but this was no ordinary bat, this was a familiar spirit that he had acquired years ago back in his battle in the Castle, this creature was magical and as such had it's own powers and he could understand what it was saying to him.

"I have been busy with the new students, the Japanese students are rather different now…interesting the effect of a decade since I last came here."

The bat chattered away as Adrian took out a small insect that the bat ate away with gusto with him not being bothered by the sight as he spoke to it as it ate it's food.

"I have met a good number of people thus far, at least despite the rapid modernization, and the wars that happened, the people have not lost their sense of identity. What about you? What have you found out recently?"

The bat chattered away as it flew off Adrian's hand and was flying around him as the dhampire listened as he began to remove his suit and tie.

"I see…there's been no sign of supernatural activity around the outside of the city…and none thus far inside. That is to be expected as the spirits do not like to be close in the city. Anything that should be of concern?"

The bat continued to speak as Adrian was finally bare of his suit and tie which he folded meticulously while placing his shoes there beside it. Once he was done, he used some of his magic to place his clothes into storage and got up as the bat continued to follow him while giving it's report to it's master. The familiar was a good ally of his and had been through many battles, but that was not all, the creature and Maria were not the best of friends when they met but at least things had worked out ever since then.

As soon as it was done flying about, the dhampire then arrived in one of the rooms and opened a case and inside the case was some of his old gear, namely the heirloom sword of mother. The weapon was still as deadly as it had been when his mother had given it to him on his sixteenth birthday all those centuries ago. As he drew the weapon, it gave a barely audible hiss as it left the enchanted scabbard and he placed the scabbard back into the case. He then looked at the weapon carefully, remembering the memories that were invoked by the weapon.

He entered another hall and began to practice with his sword once more, even though it had been a number of years since he had used his sword, he was not going to let his skills get rusty just because he had not been called upon to fight the forces his father would command. With each attack and defensive move he made, he began to think about his next steps while here in Japan, he had plans to serve his term there in the university and then move to the next one. Once he was done, he would then move to the next school to keep himself busy.

However as he began to reach his focus, he felt something stir in his mind and soul, a part of his vampire mind began to focus on this and soon found himself thinking about a certain female student. Most men would have thought that he was just thinking about one of his students in an impure fashion, however, they would be wrong in that regard.

Something about that girl…Kasumi tugged at him, he had ignored it and revealed nothing when he had met the woman before. The second time that he had met her in her own school, something began to tug at him. And if there was one thing that Adrian learned in his very long life, it was not something that one could afford to ignore for long.

(There was nothing evil about that girl…I sensed no evil magic or illusion around her, she had considerable power in her spiritual and physical strength, and she carries an aura of gentleness and compassion though she is strong and if needed, can be ruthless though only if needed. And despite this, she is human…but why is it that I feel that I have met this woman before, yet I cannot clearly recall where I have met her in the first place?)

As he thought those things over, the dhampire placed his sword into the ground after finishing his training rounds. He began to run through his memories if he had indeed met this young woman, but so far he was not sure where the vague memories came from.

(I wonder…does she also know of me though vaguely? This is strange, but I can only hope that this will not be the beginning of a dark path.)

The bat familiar then flew to him and spoke once more in it's native tongue.

"I am fine…I am just trying to recall some things that seem to be of importance…but that can wait for now…it is time to get some much needed sleep. Go and keep up your vigil and report to me anything that can be deemed of importance."

The bat chattered and soon flew off into the dark sky, Adrian who was only wearing his shirt, pants, and sock decided to head to his room. The room was well made but instead of a bed, he naturally had his coffin. In the past he would have placed himself in a deep sleep of self imposed magical exile, but ever since his awakening to face his father, and his life with Maria, he had decided that sleeping until the end of time would avail him nothing.

Still, this was his best place of rest despite how creepy it was, and it was linked to the security wards he had placed on his house so he would be quickly alerted. As he placed his sword in his coffin within easy reach, he lay down and began to move the coffin lid over himself. And once he was in the darkness, he allowed his sleepiness to take over, his meal previously had been rather filling and that was more than enough to see him until morning.

(Maybe in sleep my memories will be clearer.)

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

A new chapter after so many months inside the ice box, it's not too short and not too long, and I have to admit that this is not as action packed as my other works. But you have to admit also that I have left this story in ice for s very long time so I have a lot to do to bring this story back from the brink. I have some new plans on how this story is going to play out and soon we are going to get back into the battles that make both games famous.

I plan to allow Adrian to travel Japan after a chapter or two and eventually meet the ninjas once again, there is the fact that Adrian does have a history with the ninja siblings, namely Kasumi so you can bet that when that comes out into the open, things are going to be very interesting for everyone who is going to be involved. The battles will naturally pit the DOA cast against the monsters and minions that have made Castlevania famous and there is no doubt that while they do have some

Now on the topic of pairings, I am rather hesitant to go full throttle here since there are a number of characters that can really be interesting. I am not saying that Adrian will focus only on Kasumi, I will want to place Adrian into situations where he will be able to socialize with the rest of the DOA cast as well as create other faces into the mix. Keep in mind that while this story is not directly related to the rest of the Castlevania franchise, I will try to create characters who would be familiar to those who have played the games.

In hindsight, Adrian will meet the other women of DOA and will interact with them in his own fashion. I might also include some of the women that have been tied to Ryu, namely Rachel, Sonia, and a few others to add some more fuel to the fire. The only women I intend to leave out of the whole equation will be Hitomi and possibly Lei Fang, the former due to the fact that she and Hayate go well together, and Lei Fang is a bit of a Tom boy and while I KNOW that it's not there at times, I feel that she and Jann Lee are more suited to one another.

This means that the other female cast members might be the ones I would be choosing for a pairing and not just for the fun of it.

Ayane for example is a possible pairing since Adrian can relate to her due to their respective circumstances of birth though Adrian is a bit better off since despite his opposition to his father, he does acknowledge the fact that he cared for his father as he gave him life.

Helena is another candidate due to the fact that they both witnessed the deaths of their respective mother first hand and were unable to do anything about it back then. There will be some differences but one can say that Adrian can see how the pain is eating up Helena and he can relate to that due to his own difficulties of moving past his mother's death.

I have no idea about the others though Kasumi is certainly there for a reason, and if I pick one of the female cast members, I am going to have to work on how to give the others a chance to find peace, happiness, or whatnot…another tall order for me yet again.

I would go for the single pairing route…but IF you guys WANT a H pairing idea…then I am not against the idea either. But don't expect THAT to be a walk in the park for me.

I might put up a poll for this one idea in the near future so be ready for that okay?

Anyway, that is that and the next chapter will still be some socializing scenes and we see how the other DOA cast is doing. But like anything else…this chapter will have some signs of evil once more making a move. This will be the start of what can become a real adventure for the DOA cast as they now deal with something a LOT different from what they have dealt with in the arenas that they have been in before.

…

Now next on the update block will be Naruto/Avatar: TLAB and then I will try to update my VanDread: Curiosity's Reward AND the VanDread The Fox idea. Hope that will be enough for all the readers here today as I go on and update as many stories as I can before going back to my Halo stories. Don't be surprised though if I update some other stories as well to make sure that they don't get all rusty and become uninteresting.

See you all soon!


	3. Not a chapter

Hell readers, I know that normally you would be expecting a new chapter update, but this is obviously not one of them. I right now I have good news and bad news.

Bad news first since it has to be squared away so we can get to the good news. Just yesterday afternoon here in my side of the world, I received the scan warning of my PC that my hard drive has finally become bad and failure is imminent. I have been hearing weird noises from my HD for some time and after having it diagnosed, my cousin finally confirmed that it is reaching the end of it's ability to function. And now that day has come so now I have to either have it replaced or repaired.

And considering the fact that it's an older HDD model, I am not sure if it can be repaired, I will ask my cousin if he can try to repair it but if it is not salvageable then I have no other option but to buy a new one. And considering my family's current finances which is not too good but not too bad either, it might take a while. So that means my PC is dead in the water

Now the good news, I have managed to back up all my files prior to the collapse of the HD in my USB devices so it's not a total loss. I will find a way to upload all my recently updated non Halo files into the site and continue there until I solve my hard drive problem. If that works out, then I will be able to still update my work so it will not be long before I continue. So if you see a new update after this message is sent, then you will know that I am still alive and kicking.

Just to be clear, all Halo stories are still on ice so don't ask me about them. I will unfreeze them when I have done what I want with the non Halo ones. And the non Halo stories will still be updated whenever possible so don't worry about them.

…

I know this is not what anyone wants, but it was bound to happen eventually so I have to make the most of it.

See you all soon.


	4. Chapter 4

CastleVania Dead Or Alive: Darkness Rising

Disclaimer: I don't own either game series so don't come around and contact me on lawsuits.

Chapter 2

Old Enemies…Old Allies…Old Memories…

…

In Transylvania…

One once said that evil never truly sleeps and even if beaten, has to return to the realm of darkness and chaos to heal, recover it's forces, plan, prepare, and soon invade. This was a cycle known all too well by those who knew of the old ways of the world and knew of the dark secrets hidden away from prying eyes. Even though the world seemed to be embracing the ways of science and technology, and scorning the old beliefs of the past, that did not mean that all turned away from the hidden powers long known and felt in Humanity's past.

And the same could be said for those who fight such dark powers, the ancient cycle of good against evil never truly faded away and when the dark powers did not sleep, neither did the powers of light. Even now there would be those who would heed the call once the darkness comes back to cover the world in shadow and despair. And in turn, those who heeded the call of light would stand ready to oppose them and their plans to harm the realm of the living.

But as before, such wariness is dulled by time, and this allowed evil to strike first, and while science discounts the presence of evil beings and monsters. That did not mean that evil did not find…other ways to control those who were willing to be seduced by the power it promised them, even if it mean giving up their souls and humanity for it.

"All right…we're here."

The speaker was a man who was well dressed in what one could call high fashion, totally out of place for the countryside of Transylvania. Dark hair done in a combed back fashion, a well featured though severe looking face with dark green eyes made him look handsome to most, but that did not extend to the glow in his eyes. If one was to look beyond mere appearances, this man radiated an aura that spoke of…malice and corruption hidden away expertly.

"Ah…the sacred land of the Master."

The second speaker was a woman who wore an elegant dress of black and red, more than enough show the sensual and fully formed build of a woman who was in the prime of life. Her blood red hair also added to the package along with her blue eyes and beautiful face. But she was no angel as she herself also released an aura of darkness from her, her eyes were blue like ice and her demeanor also spoke of an ever changing nature, to no doubt fool and misguide the weak willed and inexperienced.

The last was a tall man who would have been considered a football player or a man who pumped iron for a living or worse. But he was far from unintelligent as he showed an aura of someone who was very well versed in lore and those of the modern era.

"We must get this underway, once we do this, our presence will be known."

Soon a powerful ritual was underway as the ones who spoke began to chant in a tongue that was both ancient and feared. It was the power to summon dark entities of evil that long ago, science sought to discount as the creations of superstition and folklore. But as all things went when it came to the supernatural, things were not as clear cut as it was in the eyes of others. The three soon began to chant louder and eventually a few people came into the front of the three, The first group were pushed forward and were soon forced into the standing areas of a pentagram and soon the three took out wicked knives etched with strange symbols and soon moved in to the group who turned out to be struggling and bleeding from the mouth, signs no doubt that they tongues had been taken out from them, and violently at that as their faces were bruised and bloody.

Soon their throats were cut and their blood fell out as their bodies were soon left there on the ground. The three soon began to chant as the runes glowed a sickly red color and they in turn cut their own hands to allow their own blood to be spilled and to meld with the blood of their slain victims. The second group of people, who were unbound walked forward willingly and soon they too had their throats cut by the trio. Only they were in the middle of the symbol that the first group had made.

The chanting continued until the blood from both groups began to move and form the pentagram and glowed deep crimson, lighting up the night and soon the trio moved into the middle of the now glowing pentagram and stabbed the three knives into the ground and soon stood there as the symbol of occult power grew brighter by the second and soon a flash of light occurred that literally made the valley become scarlet.

And soon the light faded, and the three were left unharmed. The bodies of their apparent sacrifices, willing and unwilling were gone, not even the blood pools they had left prior to everything remained. But before the trio was something else…something that was filled with evil and malice.

The specter of Death looked at the assembled humans before it and spoke in it's very cold manner.

"You have come a very long way to accomplish this feat Mortals, what have you sought in this place?"

The trio showed the symbols on their necks as Death looked closely at the symbols, and saw the symbol of the House of Dracula, and that made the specter gave a slight sound that resembled…laughter, a laughter that was hollow and filled with no warmth that one would normally associate with laughter. That did not frighten the humans before it and they merely smiled while not saying anything until the Specter spoke to them.

"It seems that not all mortals have forgotten the Master, you serve him still and he will be pleased. But for now he cannot come here and begin his work."

The leader of the group did not say anything first and after a moment or so, he decided to ask Death something that he felt was of importance.

"Why is that Lord Death?"

"The accursed Belmonts and their allies have always stood before our master and they have managed to create several powerful artifacts that have the power to become threats to his control. The accursed vampire Killer Whip is still loose in the world and cannot be found, but these artifacts must be found and either destroyed or corrupted."

The woman nodded and spoke in a confident tone.

"We shall seek them out and bring them to the Master for them to be brought to the service of the true Lord of this world, or be destroyed."

Death did not respond for a moment and spoke once again.

"We will need great sacrifices to bring the Master back, his last battles have weakened him greatly and his powers must be restored. Once these artifacts are found and destroyed or corrupted, we can bring him back. However, these are merely the beginning, we must watch those who may rise to become a threat to our master, and weaken them or destroy them before they rise up. The Belmonts must be the first to be weakened and then their ancestral allies."

The third person in the triumvirate spoke in a confident tone.

"They shall be dealt with accordingly, soon our Master will rise once more and bring true order in this world filled with the weak and the misguided."

Death smiled a bit, at least doing something that would pass for a smile.

"Good, very well then, get it completed and quickly, we however will need more allies to aid us in our cause. Though you all are possessing power, there will always be a need for a plan to end the threats that seek to halt the plans we have set forth."

"We have made moves to gain allies Lord Death, one has special…promise, though he is not fully aware of our plans."

…

In a house in Britain…

The halls of the large house was filled with muffled activity and if one were to walk the halls of the building, one could hear the cries of a woman. But this was not what most would first suspect as the woman was not being attacked by anyone, or being harmed by sickness…but a vision. And it was not a vision that one can easily ignore in any way, shape, or form.

This house belonged to the Belmont Clan or at least a faction of the Belmonts who still lived in the world. Ever since the ongoing war between the Belmonts, their allies and Dracula, the Belmont elders knew that their survival was dependent on their clan staying alive for as long as possible, training in secret and one day, determine who will be ready to face Dracula once he returned. This had once been a rite of passage for all Belmonts, but the dangers of overconfidence and arrogance reminded them that their mission to fight the forces of Darkness and Dracula must never be seen as a game.

The younger generations of Belmonts fell to the weakness of hubris before and thought that their war with the Darkness was a game, not the life or death struggle of the past And it had taken two nearly fatal incidents in the first and second world wars when Dracula's dark allies nearly brought the world to ruin to remind them of the true perils of their lives.

That was why the arrogance of the past had to be avoided and the training much more demanding to make sure that they were ready. Still, to ensure that the Belmonts also did not become separate from their humanity and the humanity they swore to protect, they were not forbidden from being with other people and settling into normal lives. But all including their spouses who eventually were told of the struggle were aware that the time would come that they would face Dracula once again.

Catherine Belmont was gifted with the power of prophecy and had used it on numerous occasions to aid her people in times of rising evil in the land. But it had not always been a blessing as the powers had on occasion weakened her body and as such, she had to only use her powers when needed. But now it seemed that such a need was upon her. She clutched her cross tightly as she began to experience the visions once more. Her watcher and brother George Belmont was not pleased at times by these visions and the debilitating effects they had on his sister, but he knew that it was a price that she willingly paid to help fight the darkness.

The other Belmonts in the house soon arrived to see what was it that ailed the older woman and they were ready to hear what was it that she planned to say to them.

"They have brought…Death back."

"Who? Who has brought Death back?"

Robert Belmont was Catherine's older brother and was one of the senior Belmonts and one of the most skilled thus far to face the forces of darkness. His brother Juste was not yet ready for this and he was the fourth son and not yet old enough to be trained in the ways of the family.

"I…I could not see them, their faces were blurred, but there is no mistaking that they serve Dracula…they…they intend to revive him once more brother."

Robert knew that this meant that the struggle was to begin again, all he could hope for was that those who were the ancestral allies of the Belmonts could come to their aid. They too had learned that while their power was still strong and their training good, the Belmonts could not win alone, not in this day and age anymore. The old alliances that remained now had to be supported by those who knew the call of evil to it's followers, and thus these alliances would be supported by new ones who have what was needed to help end the reign of Dracula once more.

He turned and spoke to those who were with them.

"Send word to our allies, Dracula's revival is coming, much earlier than before. No doubt the work of those who are enamored by his dark power and influence and seek power for their own desires as well. Send out our best agents to find anything that van aid us in this dark time and see if we can find out anything on who are responsible for this."

"Yes my Lord!"

Soon it seemed that the old war between Light and Shadow was once more reignited…and the players on both sides were being called to the field.

…

In Japan…

Kasumi woke up to a new day, but her sleep was not as calming as she had hoped that it would be. The dreams she had of late began to clear up. She dreamed of being back home, playing with her brother Hayate and Ayane as they had done before, but then she saw a figure now before her. She could not tell who it was but she saw it reach for the ball that they had been playing with and gave it to her. Just as she was about to reach for the ball, she woke up and felt as if there was something missing.

The young Kunoichi had not been much for dreams that made no sense, the only dreams that made sense to her were the ones that showed her going home, being with her family and not being hunted. The dreams from before, about a voice that she had yet to fully recall, and now these dreams made no sense to her whatsoever. But they did not have an oppressive feeling about them so she could sense that they were not dreams that spoke of evil.

She sighed as she got up and got the container of fish food and took out the allotted amount and fed her fish. She smiled warmly as her pet fish were quick to get to their food and she moved away to get her breakfast ready. She was a great cook and having to live on her own helped her improve her skills over time and soon she was able to have a good meal for herself. Most people would have asked how someone like Kasumi could survive on her own in a city like Tokyo, but they were unaware that despite being a runaway Kunoichi, Kasumi did have funds stashed away. Like many Kunoichi who were in touch with the modern era, she had been trained to have funds stashed away somewhere for use, and it had been the case prior to her leaving the clan to avenge her brother Hayate.

Once she had been ranked as a runaway, she should have been cut off from the source of funds, but Hayate had not cut it off, in truth only he and their mother knew of the funds she had stored away. And despite being only seventeen, Kasumi was smart in her use of her finances, which was why she was able to make it last as long as she did and place it away in a bank under an assumed name to use only if it was dire and only took a small amount every end of the month to have on hand.

As she was done cooking and eating she sat down on her chair and took out a picture of her mother, father, Hayate, herself, and Ayane. Happier times to be sure, but she knew that unless something happened, she knew she would never be welcomed back home. She shook her head at this and soon decided to get ready for the rest of the day and make the most of her time. All she can hope for at this time was that she would be able to come home some day and make peace with her family, both her biological family and those who were like family to her.

She also thought about the dream she had this morning and hoped that at some point the dream would become a lot clearer. This dream was something of importance, she knew it to be important, why else would she be having it after so long?

…

Unknown to Kasumi…

Alucard was sleeping hours before, but not any longer, the dhampir was tensed up and for good reason. His magical senses only hours before dawn had been hit by the wave of dark magic and had wanted him that a powerful spell had been attempted. And attempted by those of dark hearts, he knew all too well that it meant that another force had tried to awaken his long slumbering father. He doubted that it was by his own hand that his father would return. The cycle was not yet over, so it was likely attempted by human worshippers of his father.

He got up after waking up and was now pacing back and forth in the hallway to try and make sense of what his next move was going to be. He still had no clue as to what was awakened and by whom. His father had MANY dark and vile allies as well as human ones who were enamored with his plans and no doubt sought to wield dark power for their own. One thing that he lamented at times was that there were people, who instead of being wary of the lure of dark power, were seduced by it and sought to wield it, even at the price that came with it. These people would one day be the death of this world, but at least there were still those who would fight the power of Dracula. The Belmonts most certainly would fight, along with their own allies, namely the Lecarde Family, the ones who were his and Maria's descendants and many others who had known of the war between the powers of light and dark. It was in their hands now, but that did not mean that he was going to remain idle for long.

He recalled full well why he had awakened centuries before his appointed time, the disappearance of Richter Belmont had triggered it and also this brought his meeting with Maria. So he will be ready to respond should the call come to him as well. Though he felt that he must be patient and cautious as well, even though he had history with the Belmonts and others, he knew that as a dhampir, he would be under suspicion so he must be careful not to be caught off guard. Many of the people who were once his allies had all passed on and even those who were his descendants with Maria may no longer remember him, yet another problem of him being a dhampir.

…

For now however he needed to go and find out discreetly what he could of the power that had jolted him awake and see if steps by the Belmonts and others were being taken to address this problem. All he could do at this point was wait and continue to make the most of the life he was living. So far, Japan had not been drawn into the machinations of his father and the rest of his dark allies and servants. And for that he was thankful and began to think on what to do the next day.

But as he did so, a memory in his dream state came back to him.

He began to think back on something he was dreaming of before feeling the wave of dark magic. Normally for most people dreams were just that, dreams, but for those who were either attuned to the supernatural, or were born from it, dreams had more meaning. They were more than just random memories of constructs made from the imagination of one's self. They were at times tapping into the stream of time and could reveal things both in the past and the future.

And considering his origin when he was born and his experiences in his long lie, he learned to take certain dreams very seriously.

He began to think about it once more, still a haze of sorts, then the haze began to change…it was a memory of his travels…to Japan a number of years before.

It was to be expected that he had come here before, but that had been nearly a decade ago, and he had not been in the cities, traveling only to the most remote regions to seek out people who still recalled the ancient ways and knew of the struggle between good and evil. But so far, his memories of the trip were hazy as it had been some time since his return. All he could recall in that dream was being in a village made in the old style of Japan. He had been to Japan before prior to his encounters with his father when he once traveled the lands trying to find some measure of understanding and peace for himself.

His time in this nation all those years before had not been easy as even here, there were those who hated evil with such passion that they would attack those they suspected of it. He recalled being pursued once and had eluded his captors and eventually met those who say that while his blood was that of darkness, his mind, and soul were not. There in that village he was allowed to come and visit and here the memory ended. That was when he began to feel the stirrings of the power that only those of evil could have..and his dream ended.

He did not know if he should take part in this new possible war, much has happened and he knew that the Belmonts were still active in the world, even after many of them scattered to different corners of the world. Many of them opposed the World Wars, even more so when they learned that the powers that followed Dracula could benefit from the battles and the many sides taking part of it. One such problem that he had helped in was stopping the Thule Society from recreating the same tragedy that Simon Belmont endured. And that was when he had to recover the parts of Dracula to bring him back and end the dark curse that could have killed him. The Nazi's Thule Society wanted to the very same thing, resurrecting Dracula by recovering his body parts and re-assembling them into a host to being Dracula back into the world.

That was stopped by the Belmonts and the Lecardes long ago and he only provided aid, knowing that the current generations had the advantage. But despite failing in their grand scheme for power and the strength to win the War when the time came, the Thule Society and in extension, Hitler ordered unknowing forces to evict and kill the Belmonts, the Lecardes and their allies, forcing them to scatter and avoid being killed. This weakened the forces that opposed his father considerably as they could not use their powers against those humans who were not tied to evil but were now their enemies.

Doing so would have worked to the advantage of their enemies and so ended the presence of the forces that could oppose Dracula and his forces. But at least they in their moments prevented a premature return of his father. Now it seemed that they would have to return to the field and he hoped that they were ready for this soon to come war.

…

As for him, he would make the most of his time and live, and allow those who had opposed his father to do what they must to defend this world. He would keep his promise to live among the humans and be alive. But if the powers of nature called to him, then he would rise to the challenge and fight as he did before when no one else would rise up and fight his father. For now, as he placed those thoughts aside and got dressed for the rest of the school day, he had much to teach the students and he hoped that he would not be needed in the coming conflict. But as he knew all too well from experience, as long as there is a force that could stand against them, evil would never relent.

But then again…

…Neither would he.

…

Elsewhere…

"Ahhh!"

A blonde woman of great beauty but carrying heavy burdens once more awakens, looking deep into the shadows of the night around her room. It was as if she was trying to see if the specters of her nightmares would come to life and strike her. Seeing none, she looked at her clock and saw that it was not yet even morning and she sighed.

(I hate this…)

Helena Douglas, got up while still using her bed's blanket as a makeshift robe as she sat down on the nearby chair to her vanity table. She looked to see the exhaustion in her eyes and she could only shake her head at the sight she was right now. She had to recover a bit more and do what she knew had to be done in order to finally end this. She had hoped to finally bring everything to an end in the last tournament but she survived and she felt that there was still a chance that if she survived, then Donovan did as well. And she was proven right when her spies informed her that the man was still alive. but had disappeared days later.

She still intended to find the man and make sure to end him once and for all and then figure out what she was going to do with the company. DOATEC had been a good company once, it did everything her father Fame had hoped for, but Donovan twisted it into something else. She had done a lot of gathering intelligence to learn just what Donovan had done and how best to counter the man's schemes. She knew enough in the past when she discovered his plan to create the perfect living weapon, namely the clone of the Kunoichi Kasumi. There were other activities by those that Donovan worked with but right now her focus was the man who had ordered the death of her mother.

Helena gave a sigh and tried to stop herself from crying as she recalled the events that scarred her for life. The death of her mother had turned her into someone she had no doubt her mother would have been appalled to meet. But she had made the choice ever since she saw her daughter take a bullet meant to kill her and not her beloved mother. She recalled how many months to near years she spent to track down the shooter.

Most would have been content to kill the shooter, but she did not have an easy time in both tracking her mother's killer and had made many mistakes. But the biggest mistake she made in her quest was she did not look closer to those around her. She learned that the one she trusted the most at the time, Christie was not only an assassin under the employ of Donovan, but was the same assassin who was tasked to kill her, and fired the bullet meant for her, but ended up slaying her mother.

Many times she felt that she should have killed the woman and ended it all, but her time had made her realize that even if she wanted to kill the British Assassin, her knowledge of DOATEC's corrupt dealings and Donovan himself made her too useful to kill. But she had no doubt at all in her mind that sooner or later, there would be a reunion with her. Christie was not the type to leave a job undone, even though she had plenty of chances to kill her in the past.

She took the bottle of pills to help her relax and decided to focus on getting some food in her stomach and focus on what had to be done.

…

In another side of Japan…

Ryu continued his kata with the Dragon Blade and as soon as he was done, he began to think on how to deal with the recent…troubles as of late. While he had finally put an end to his own enemies, rumors about strange happenings in Europe had began to filter here to Japan. As one of the Dragon Clan, Ryu knew that he would soon need to investigate these rumors if there was truth in them. Whatever it was, he had enough experience to know that sooner or later, what happens there would eventually spill over into Japana.

As he finished his kata, he turned to look and find none other than Kasumi's brother Hayate who spoke to him.

"Good to see that you are still keeping yourself shapr Ryu."

The super ninja shrugged and replied to that.

"It's a good way to keep myself focused, and get ready for the mission to come."

Hayate nodded as both of them turned to face the sight of the Mugen Tenshin village before them, Hayate sighed a bit more and after checking that no one was in earshot of him and Ryu, he spoke once more.

"How is Kasumi?"

"She is well, making the most of the life that she has in Tokyo, but there is no doubt in my mind that she still wishes to return home."

"I know, but the law still stands and she cannot. I sometimes wish I can just forgive her and allow her to come home, mother would be utterly pleased for that, and hopefully mend fences with our family, even Ayane. But I can't as head of the Clan, the only good thing at least is that Kasumi has never killed anyone."

"Except Raidou."

Hayate growled at the name of his most hated relative, he could never forgive the man for what he had done, not just to him, his mother, and Ayane, but to Kasumi and their clan. Raidou's lust for power and his disregard for all things sacred was what made Kasumi turn her back on the clan to avenge him, and have Ayane become an outcast and therefore develop a heavy dislike for Kasumi. And of course making the clan become Kasumi's enemy because of the law against nukenin even though there would be those among them who did not want this, and neither did Kasumi.

Kami only knew how hard it was for Kasumi to be forced to fight her own clan to survive.

"Raidou deserved to die for what he did, and while I cannot say it out loud, I am glad that she did end that bastard's life."

"But in exchange she can never go home…"

"Yes, and it's not something that I can stand at times, and the same could be said for my mother and father. Ayane at least has lessened her dislike for Kasumi for some time now and I hope that soon their relationship would be mended."

Ryu nodded and then spoke to Hayate.

"I will need to head to Europe to determine the veracity of the rumors I have been hearing there. I will be gone for a while, at least three days at best."

Hayate sighed at that as he knew what that meant.

"So you will need to leave Japan, I know that Kasumi can handle herself but it does not make me the least bit pleased to know that she will be in danger again."

"True, but after the fall of DOATEC in the last tournament, many of the village has taken the time to recover so there has been no move against Kasumi since no one has volunteered as of yet to come after her. And the fact that Ayane has not gone out after Kasumi for a while might show that her vendetta has cooled somewhat."

Hayate knew the truth there in Ryu's words, though he balanced that off by stating.

"But sooner or later we will be at it again. I hope that you find your answers soon, for now I will go and speak to Kasumi myself. DOATEC may have fallen, but I have my doubts that Donovan has given up in making our lives miserable with his mad bid for power."

Ryu nodded though he privately worried that Hayate's desire to bring DOATEC down would be going to the area of obsession. He knew the reasons for that and they were valid, but he hoped that his long time friend would not fall too far and be stuck forever in a pit of hatred. That was the last thing he wanted Hayate to be in, both as a leader and a good man. Besides, Donovan was still alive somewhere, that much he could feel and as long as the man still lived, there was no telling if and when there would be an attack.

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

Well, here is the latest chapter for Castlevania Dead Or Alive story, it's been a while but I hope that this is going to be enough for the rest of the day. I will be working on this story at a later date to make sure that this story is not going to be idle for long. So far I have no plans on giving up this story as there is good potential here and it will be worth seeing to the end.

As for the dream thing…I'll let you guys figure it out on your own time.

On the next chapter, we're not going into combat just yet as we will be meeting up with the other DOA characters to see how their lives are faring and what will be the outcome when they face the forces of darkness. Alucard will soon be making his own preparations but will be dragged into some interesting situations soon enough and will be meeting other DOA characters, male and female, good and bad.

How those meetings will turn out will still be up to me to decide. At any rate, I hope that despite the fact that this was a fairly short chapter, I was able to properly convey the situation and the direction on where this is going.

See you all soon!


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